Vision...A Wonderful Thing

When I was eight years old my Dad and I were riding in a car on Orient Boulevard in Wichita. At some point Dad discovered I couldn’t read the large letters on the side of the Santa Fe boxcars. We scheduled an appointment and discovered I had 20/400 vision in my left eye and 20/300 in my right eye. In the following years I wore very thick coke bottle lenses for years. They provided no peripheral vision. Eventually I was able to wear contacts, but vision without them was still poor.

In 2004 and last month I had cataract surgery and now benefit from 20/20 or near 20/20 vision. Truly vision is a wonderful thing. In the corporate world vision is also important. The ability to visualize a dream, communicate the dream to followers, and then enlist them in the vision is essential to success. Absence of any of the three vision factors leaves organizations struggling for direction in the competitive business world. The ability to visualize a dream is often muddied by lack of decisiveness. Knowing what we want is more difficult than gaining the goal itself. We must be completely committed to the vision. Someone has said, “one man after a just and right cause becomes a majority.” The passion of the vision comes before the ability to enlist others. Communication of the vision is much easier when the leader is committed. Followers can sense sincerity from those in charge. They often don’t understand the full impact of the vision, but follow because of the clarity of purpose in leadership.

The communication and enlistment go hand in hand. The more that is communicated, the more complete the enlistment in the vision. Getting people to enlist in a vision also takes strategy. Using small victories to build momentum can be very effective. Taking on too much and failing has just the opposite effect. Once small tasks are accomplished harder ones can be attempted. Success builds confidence and is very important in the early stages of implementing a vision. One of my favorite quotes is from futurist Joel Barker, “Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with vision can change the world.”